The Settlers 7 Forums indicate that problems with the DRM in The Settlers 7, which requires a constant internet connection, are continuing, if not getting worse, as there has been what the UK Forum Manager refers to as a "recent 'explosion' in posts." There are reports from players in various territories who have been unable to play the game for a couple of days, some of these including word of corrupted saved games. Thanks Xirix.

That server emulator doesn't let you complete the game and most people are not going to be installing Python and a webserver on their Windows machine just to play AC2 or Settlers 7. It's not a realistic alternative yet for those people who want to buy the game to support the developers but use a pirated copy instead to avoid the DRM.